Friday, October 8, 2010

Friday Mishmash

Since Your Mama is bizzy talking our b.f.f. Fiona back in from the ledge, we're going to change things up a wee bit this morning with a little bit o' mishmash, thereby starting our weekend wrap up a bit early.

1.Somehow we missed the recent rundown on Curbed National of the private homes of three bigwigs at fashion bible Vogue. Featured are the Bellport, NY weekend home of Vogue's intimidating Editrix in Chief Anna Wintour, the Wilton, CT getaway of former Men's Vogue honcho (and current contributing editor) Jay Fielden, and the Paris apartment of Vogue's dapper and effete European Editor at Large Hamish Bowles.

Your Mama always find it odd that Anna Wintour's homes (and offices) present a kind of blanched, pared down country house chic with faded floral prints and lots of distressed wood pieces that look like they were picked up at a rummage sale. These interiors compel Your Mama to re-evaluate the ice queen image that clings to MizWintour like taffy to teeth. Then we read a delicious but insanely catty quote by MizWintour who said of the town of Bellport, "I just import the people I want… I don't mind the town. It's white trash, of course, but I don't care," and think maybe she's earned her reputation.

What Your Mama finds sort of interesting is that Miz Wintour's swummer house is usually reported as being in Bellport. As far as we know (and can tell by public records), her secluded compound, situated at the end of a long dirt road with access to the bay, is actually in the lurid sounding town of Mastic Beach. Technically the 9 or 10 building compound is in an area referred to as Old Mastic, but either way, it's not really Bellport.

A couple of years ago, Miz Wintour applied for permission with the town to build a 700-square foot garage and expand her gym. Both requests were approved and presumably she's got a new garage and a bigger space for all her body torture equipment.

Sadly, Mister Fielden's home in Connecticut caught on fire last week and burned to the damn ground making the photos poignant melancholy mementos.

2.All the New York City real estate gossips are abuzz about Justin Timberlake (allegedly) snatching up a new penthouse at the troubled Charles Gwathmey designed Chelsea Mews building in SoHo, a rumor that has become even more deafening since he put his full floor TriBeCa loft style condo on the market with an asking price of $5,250,000.

It was only two years ago that Mister Timberlake laid out, according to prop records and previous reports, $4,774,574 for the 3 bedroom and 3 pooper condo with Hudson River views.

On the West Coast, Mister Timberlake and his ladee-friend Jessica Biel bunk down in the 12,000-ish square foot mansion off Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood Hills where it has been reported the kinky haired golf obsessed singer/actor installed (or is installing) a 5-hole putting green. Mister Timberlake bought the in 2002 from actress Helen Hunt who remodeled but never actually lived in the house.

3. It's no secret that controversial comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and his wife Isla Fisher recently purchased an a sprawling celebrity-style compound in the Hollywood Hills. The peeps at Property Shark show that the couple paid $14,000,000 for the 7 bedroom and 10 pooper property that was last listed with an asking price of $18,900,000.

Shortly after the couple closed on their new compound in June of 2010 the couple put their former home–a fully renovated 3 bedroom and 2.5 pooper place in the Hollywood Hills–on the sales market with an asking price of $2,900,000 and on the rental market at $11,995 per month.

Now word comes slip sliding down the celebrity real estate gossip grapevine via the Los Angeles Times that the couple former house was leased at $9,000 per month. What was not reported was that, according to our freakishly well informed source Lucy Spillerguts, the renters are a couple of high profile lesbian ladeez who recently bought another house in Beverly Hills. Presumably the women needed temporary digs while they renovate their new house.

4. Actress an architecture buff Diane Keaton has finally managed to off load her Ralph Flewelling designed digs in Beverly Hills to Ryan Murphy, the man behind the Glee phenomenon.

Some of the children who have been hanging around her for a long time might recall that back in May of 2008 Mister Murphy unsuccessfully attempted to sell his fully rehabbed wood and glass contemporary originally designed by architect Carl Maston above Los Angeles' Sunset Strip on the market with an asking price of $4,195,000. Property records show that Mister Murphy still owns the property.

Miz Keaton first hoisted her restored residence on the open market in March of 2009 with an asking price of $12,995,000. The price eventually dipped to $10,950,000. It's not yet known what Mister Murphy paid, but Your Mama has a few feelers out with some of our better connected snitches.

16 comments:

Anonymous
said...

The problem with Ms. Wintour is that she doesn't have the looks to back up her personality. She's far too blah, nondescript and mousy. That is why Meryl Streep was so much better playing the part. If only Ms. Wintour could be made over to look like Ms. Streep things would be as they should be.

Godspeed Mama! Sounds like Fiona's in need of another "intervention" ––– I think I still have his number somewhere...

1). It figures; it would take a stone-cold bitch like Wintour to make her weekend retreat on the most polluted river on Long Island (and that's sayin' sumpthin'). My former co-worker (who was Wintour's successor at another rag) once speculated that the foul surroundings were the only suitable backdrop for her.

2). Same said co-worker also previewed the Chelsea Mews a while back (I got the tote, too ––– oooo, jealous?)

;-)

...seems at that time it was NRFPT and hemorrhaging cash. Hopefully that will change as I've always liked the concept for this project.

3). Who?

4). Perhaps I'll be asked to turn in my gay card, but I simply do not like Glee. It just strikes me as another example of Murdoch's contempt for his fellow man ––– a typically formulaic FOX concoction that is squarely aimed at the lowest common denominator, with an occasional clever quip and/or insight thrown in here & there to allow the viewer a certain smug satisfaction that they get it, but others won't.

It's insidious ––– just like high school; but then, in Catholic school, we only sang hymns.

“What was not reported was that, according to our freakishly well informed source Lucy Spillerguts, the renters are a couple of high profile lesbian ladeez who recently bought another house in Beverly Hills. Presumably the women needed temporary digs while they renovate their new house.”

Mama, your real estate gossip is always fun reading but it’s rare to read about high profile lesbian, so do tell who is the high profile lesbian couple and which house in Beverley Hills did they buy?

I am from Long Island and used to work in Bellport...there is a VERY small part on the ocean which is beautiful but a VERY large part is...not so nice. I am thinking anyone mentioned above lived by the water (and I have seen Isabella Rosselini on the Long Island Railroad on her way into Manhattan) she is a long time Bellport resident.

It's who you are ...not where you live. ANYWAY Polly Mellen was the inspiration for Meryl's character in TDWP....nobody was as insufferably imperious as PM. The rest of the story was correct as I lived it, along with others at V and HB.

And here's what Gawker had to say about some of Bellport (there's even a aerial shot) [http://gawker.com/296045/si-newhouses-lawn]:

"Advance Publications chairman S.I. Newhouse—Conde Nast's big honcho—and his wife live on three adjacent lots in Bellport, Long Island, on South Howell's Point Road. ... It turns out that Si Newhouse's grass is short, lush and well-kept. Surprised? Their street can be thought of as the Further Lane of Bellport. On it, every house is beautiful and large, by local standards—which is to say, each house is smaller and more dignified than those built to the standards that guide the East Hampton egotists nearly 50 miles further east. Eric Shawn, the Fox News correspondent and UN-hater, lives across the street. Not too far away lives Lucy Danziger, the editor of Self."

It all sounds pretty lush. But it's just one part, of course. There seems to be a nice, big golf course.

look, there are crappy sections of the Hamptons as well, folks. The maids and the gardeners and the trades people have to live somewhere but really, one should just keep their traps shut about their mere existence, tip them well, give them a ham at the holidays, but not insult them if they have any class, unlike Ms. Wintour.